When it became obvious that the vaccine wasn't going to work, Ethan felt like he couldn't breathe. Instead of going back into the quarantine tent, he found a bench tucked under an out of the way staircase and sat down. He had his elbows propped on his knees and his head buried in his hands. His mind kept flitting back and forth between images of Leanne being attacked by Raul and her being led into the quarantine tent. After a while, he became aware of someone standing over him. Looking up, he found Jesse staring down at him. Ethan could barely look Jesse in the eye as he said, "I'm sorry, Jesse. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"It's not your fault."

"How can you say that?"

"I was standing right there when she said, and I quote, 'I'm going with you. It's not a discussion.' When she decided to go, she knew what might happen. The questions is, now that it has, what are you going to do about it?"

"I told her we'd figure this out."

"Then what are you doing sitting around? We've got work to do."

*** CB ***

The first time Leanne woke up after the blood transfusion, she was surrounded by Ethan, Jesse, and Campbell. The second time she woke up, nearly 20 hours later, Ethan was the only one in the room. He was sitting at her bedside, clutching her hand in both of his. When he noticed that her eyelids were starting to flutter, he brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles, then whispered, "Come on, sweetheart, wake up. Let me see those beautiful eyes."

Leanne opened her eyes and turned to look at Ethan. "There's no need to act desperate. It's not like I almost died or something," she joked.

"That's not funny," he admonished. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore and tired, which I guess is better than dead."

"Still not funny."

Rolling her eyes, Leanne acquiesced, "Fine. I'll save my jokes for Jesse. Where is he?"

"He's keeping an eye on Ariel."

"How is she?"

"She's doing better," Ethan replied as he moved one hand to Leanne's hair and began twirling the long tresses around his fingers. "She's worried about you. I'll bring her in to see you later, if you're up for it."

"I'd like that. It'll give me a chance to ask her to stay with me."

"I didn't think you were going to do that."

Leanne shrugged one shoulder. "I want to give her a home and make sure she knows there's someone she belongs to."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that."

Frustrated by what she thought was Ethan's willful ignorance, Leanne explained, "I mean a permanent home. I want to adopt her."

"I understand."

"And you're okay with it?"

"If you're asking for my permission, you don't need it. If you're asking for my support, you have it."

"Thank you."

"Just one thing," muttered Ethan, trailing one finger down the side of Leanne's face.

"Hmm," she murmured

"Earlier you said you were like Ariel because you didn't belong to anyone either. That's not true. There's a lot of people at Angels who consider you a friend, especially Jesse."

"And you?"

"I thought by now we were more than friends, but, yes, you've got me."

"Good," Leanne sighed, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Why don't you get some more sleep before I bring Ariel to visit?"

"Lay with me," Leanne requested, sleepily beckoning for Ethan to join her in bed.

Ethan shook his head and protested, "I can't. As doctors, we try to dissuade our patients' loved ones from getting into the patient's bed."

Leanne waved away his concerns. "This time we are the patient and the loved one and the doctors aren't here right now, so get up here."

Her insistence convinced Ethan that the only way to get her to rest was to do what she wanted, so he helped Leanne move to one side of the bed, then carefully climbed in next to her. He laid on his side with one arm tucked under the pillow and the other draped over Leanne's waist. By the time he was settled comfortably against Leanne's side, she was asleep.

*** CB ***

The weekend after Leanne and Ariel were released from the hospital, Leanne and Ethan cleared out Caitlin's room for Ariel, who quickly made it her own. Over the next several weeks, Ariel enrolled in school and Leanne started working more regular shifts. Ethan willingly helped out as needed with both Ariel and covering Leanne's shifts at the hospital.

It didn't take long for the makeshift family to settle into a routine, which included either Leanne or Ethan cooking breakfast for Ariel every morning before taking her to school. This quickly became Leanne's favorite part of the day. She loved being part of a family again and often found herself singing as she cooked.

One morning, Leanne was happily humming under her breath while cooking scrambled eggs and French toast. She was completely engrossed in what she was doing and didn't hear the two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs, so she was caught off guard when Ethan hugged her from behind. When she jumped, he chuckled, "Relax, it's just me."

"You scared me," Leanne scolded him.

Ethan kissed the side of her neck. "Sorry."

"Mhmm."

"How long until breakfast?"

"A couple minutes. Can you grab the plates?"

After kissing her neck again, Ethan let go of her and went to get the plates. They worked together to fill the plates with food, pour drinks, and carry everything to the table. Leanne set Ariel's plate down next to where the young girl was resting her head on the table. Stroking Ariel's hair, Leanne said, "Time to eat."

Ariel moaned unhappily, but sat up and pulled her plate closer. "It's too early," she grumbled.

With an amused smile, Leanne shook her head and said, "Sorry, but everybody goes to school."

"Can't I stay home today? Just this once," Ariel begged, sticking her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout.

"Not today."

Ethan cleared his throat to interrupt Leanne and Ariel and when they turned to look at him, he focused primarily on Ariel. In an effort to keep the peace, he chose his words carefully as he told her, "You don't want to miss your history test. You've worked really hard to get caught up and it's time for all that hard work to pay off."

"What if I fail?"

"You won't," Leanne insisted.

Ariel wasn't convinced. Anxiously chewing her lip, she asked, "What if I do?"

"We'll figure out what went wrong and fix it for the next test," Ethan answered.

At the same time, Leanne rested her hand on Ariel's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "But that's not going to happen. You know this stuff, Ariel. You're ready."

"Can you quiz me on the way to school?"

"Absolutely," Leanne agreed. "Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold."